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Victoria Dewise Matthews, 65, passed away February 10, 2023 with her husband Randall White alongside at home in Miami, FL.
Some knew her as a daring world class skipper; some knew her as an athletically tireless road cyclist; folks in Southport, North Carolina knew her as Garden Club President; her friends and family knew her as Adventure Vic or when she was very young, as Blip.
Vickie was born in Elkhorn, Wisconsin on April 30, 1957. As a child she excelled in school, both academically and as a leader among kids, serving on the Safety Patrol and occasionally as a substitute for her teacher.
Her diligent piano lessons paid off with state championships and since her piano teacher was also her church’s organist, teenage Vickie became an occasional substitute organist.
Although music captivated her, the family’s Lightning Class sailboat became an obsession. More than once, Vickie would play organ for the morning service, doff her choir robe wearing a bikini underneath, and bike to the lake to race the Lightning. Her passion for cycling and sailing was to continue throughout her life.
After attending Marquette, Vickie held professional positions that drew on her management skills and leadership, including with architects DeStefano Partners and the investigating and risk consulting firm, Kroll—both in Chicago. She served as President of the Lincoln Park Association.
But Vickie worked to sail. On flat water and open ocean swells, sailing was her true vocation. She became a sought-after crew member with some of the top names in competitive sailing, including Buddy Melges, Bruce Goldsmith, Ed Baird, Larry Klein, Betsy Alison, and Betsy Barrett (Altman).
She landed her dream job as manager of Buddy Melges’ boat yard—and would go on to be his favorite spinnaker trimmer.
In 1983, while with Baird and Klein, Vickie competed in the Pan Am Games in Caracas, Venezuela. In 2007, her all-female crew skippered by Betsy Altman, won US Sailing’s Adams Cup. The cup, inscribed with Vickie’s name, is now retired in the US Sailing Hall of Fame.
Vickie competed in regattas from Nova Scotia to San Diego. She sailed the Baltic Sea and circumnavigated the United Kingdom. She is a member of the Storm Trysail Club, and it was through sailing that Vickie met her soulmate and husband, Randy later joining him in Southport—a home that became the basecamp to adventures, both land and sea…
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